Inside Lacrosse Women's Preview 2010: No. 5 Duke Blue Devils

With a high powered offense the Blue Devils fought their way to a 15-6 season and a quarterfinal berth, losing in overtime to Penn. This was the first time Duke had missed the semifinals since 2004.

Head coach Kerstin Kimel will have a very similar scenario to two years ago, replacing a lot of talent all around the field, including two 1st team All-Americans, with young players. Caroline Cryer and Carolyn Davis, both former Tewaaraton finalists, are gone from the offensive end.

Worse for Duke, Kimel has told IL that junior Emma Hamm, a two year starter on offense, will be out for the season due to a torn knee suffered late in the fall ball season.

Rebuilding the Offense

With so many starters to replace, Coach Kimel had a lot of new players to use in the fall ball season, and feels that the new starters will be ready for the season.

“One of the cool things about having a young team is that you can really mold them to being who you want,” coach Kimel says, “and we have the ability to have a lot of depth this year if we stay healthy.”

Duke returns two All-Americans that will be the leaders of their respective units. Junior Sarah Bullard, the youngest player on the U.S. National Team, returns to captain the midfield after two years starting. Senior Lindsay Gilbride will be up at attack after tying Davis as Duke’s leading goal scorer from the midfield.

Rejoining the midfield will be senior Danielle Kachulis, a primarily defensive player that will see more time on offense this season; same scenario with junior Caroline Spearman. Duke had two freshmen that played all 21 games in the midfield last season and are expected to be key players in 2010, offensive-minded Kat Thomas and defensive-minded Kim Wenger.

One player that coach Kimel was particularly impressed with was junior Virginia Crotty, sister of the men’s team’s Ned Crotty. She will join the starting lineup in a unit that has not been fully formed and may differentiate starters, as Duke rotated a number of players at attack throughout fall ball, including junior Christine Kaestner, who played in all 21 games last season. Coach Kimel has said she may need the spring scrimmages to “shake things out.”

Changing of the Guard

Kim Imbesi started for the last three seasons between the pipes for the Blue Devils, known for her solid performance the last two NCAA Tournaments, and now Duke will rely on underclassmen to defend the cage.

Starting will be sophomore Mollie Mackler, who coach Kimel described as a different kind of player than Imbesi. While Imbesi was more of a standard goalie, often staying the in the circle and keeping in position, Mackler is more of an athletic keeper that may move a bit more.

Backing up Mackler will be freshman Kaitlin Gaiss.

Returning the Defense

Continuing what looks eerily similar to the 2008 season, the Blue Devils return many players on the defensive line that saw starting time last season. The unit had shaken up during the year, sparked by a staph infection that end Christina Germinario’s season, and the line at the end of the year will return for this season.

“We felt, especially in light of Carolyn [Davis] getting hurt at the end of the year, this unit really propelled us forward,” coach Kimel says, “It is very exciting to return a group that was really our anchor from last season.”

The line last year, now all seniors, featured Kachulis, two year-starter Sara Giedgowd, Jillian Heinz, and Betsy Sauer. If Duke needs to shake up the defense for certain teams, juniors Christie Klauberg and Miller Hughes could be used in those scenarios.

A Devilish Schedule

Duke routinely has a tough schedule, and this season will be no different. The Blue Devils will play eight teams that were ranked last season, including three semifinalists in Northwestern, North Carolina and Maryland. Despite this year’s roster not having a lot of starting experience they are used to dealing with many ranked squads.

“We’ve always played a really tough schedule,” states Kimel, “in terms of rigor I don’t think that will be a big adjustment for our group.”

One intriguing matchup will be March 21st when they host Navy in what will likely be the Mids first matchup against a top-10 squad, also bring Cindy Timchal to Durham in a non-Maryland setting.